I was looking at the fox girl whose name is Dora in shock, which made her uncomfortable.
"Is something wrong, your excellency?"
"Yes! Something is definitely wrong. Why are you calling me your excellency? I'm not some big shot, you know."
"Eeeehhh!"
Dora looked at me in shock, as if what I said was the most shocking news to her.
"If you are not some big shot, then who are you and how old are you?"
"My name is Lilia, and I am 13 years old but am going to turn 14 in two months' time."
"Eeeehhh!!! You are seven years younger than me and you are already this powerful?"
"Eeeehhh!!!"
This time, it was my turn to be shocked. This little female fox is seven years older than me?
"But you look nothing like a 21-year-old girl."
"Why you.... Just because I am short doesn't mean I'm not that age."
"No, no, no, no. This goes beyond being short. You look like a 12-year-old kid, you know. I'm only barely taller than you."
"Hmph, whatever."
Dora folded her hands and looked at her left while puffing out her cheeks. She looked incredibly cute that way, and I had to resist the urge to hug and pet her.
"Anyway, Dora, do you mind telling me who the big shots are since you thought I was one?"
Dora looked at me in confusion after hearing my question.
"That's common knowledge that everyone knows about."
"Believe me, I don't know what is common knowledge of this world. I grew up in a remote village, and due to this, I have no idea what is going on in the world now."
Dora made an 'oh' sound as she nodded.
"I understand your situation. Even I wouldn't know things about the world if I didn't start traveling. Ok, tell me what you want to know."
"Thanks, Dora. I would like to get a general idea about the world and all information you have about the adventurers guild. Anything will do."
"That will take a while to explain. Well, it goes like this..."
And so, Dora began to explain to me the current situation of the world.
From what she told me, the world is divided into two continents. The two continents are called the Human Realm and the Demon Realm.
The human realm has a total of five kingdoms inside it, namely: The Kingdom of Eclipsora which is the kingdom we are in currently and is the strongest and only kingdom ruled by humans, Celestria Kingdom which is floating in the sky by the west and it is ruled by the Sky winged people, Ironhelm Kingdom which is located in the north and it is ruled by the Dwarfs, Verdantreach Kingdom which is located at the ancient forest by the south and it is ruled by the Elves, and Kingdom of Lumindell which is close to the ancient forest and is ruled by Fairies. Each kingdom in the human realm is ruled by its own king or queen.
The demon realm doesn't have as many Kingdoms as the human realm, but it has several cities and towns in it. Only one demon rules the entire demon realm continent, and it is the Demon King.
"That's the gist of the world structure. Though you should know that even though it is called the human realm and demon realm, other races live in those realms. Like Elves, Fairies, Beastmen, Dwarfs, etc. These tribes all live in the human realm and each of them have their own kingdoms like I explained to you."
What she said makes sense. After all, she is of the fox tribe and she is living in the human realm. I guess other races besides humans live in the human realm.
"As for the demon realm, races like the Dragons, Orgs, Goblins, Undeads, Mitchs, etc... All these races live in the demon realm alongside the demons."
"I get it, but I don't understand why the realms are called human and demon."
"That's because those two races have the most population in the world and they also have the greatest fighting powers in the world."
What she is saying makes sense. Humans and Demons have always been exceptionally strong. Look at me, for example. Well, I still have some things to ask.
"I understand now. Can you tell me about the adventurers guild?"
"Sure. The adventurers guild is made up of...."
Dora began to explain to me about the adventurers guild. What she explained is what I already know from reading that Adventurers Guidebook.
Basically, the adventurers guild has branches in all the kingdoms of the human realm. The ranking system of adventurers is separated into five categories which are D, C, B, A, and S. The ranking is also the ranking of power that each beings in the human continent operates by.
Strength is everything in the world and in the adventurers guild. The number of missions you complete means absolutely nothing if you are weak. To determine the rank of an adventurer and the level of mission they can take, the guild will thoroughly check the level of the adventurer to know if they are capable.
Levels are basically an overview of a person's strength, and it will greatly help an adventurer to determine their rank.
From level 1 to 150 are all D rank, level 151 to 300 are all C rank, level 301 to 550 are all B rank, and level 551 to 1000 are A rank adventurers.
Each ranks is divided into five realms to classify their strength. For D rank, from level 1 to 30 is Lower Realm, level 31 to 60 is Middle Realm, level 61 to 90 is Higher Realm, level 91 to 120 is Upper Realm and level 121 to 150 is Master Realm.
Like this, the same is applied to C rank but for Rank B and Rank A, it is different. These two ranks are when the true power of beings manifest and those on this rank can look down on the world as overlords. From rank B, the levels required to break through to the next realm are 50 levels difference.
Meaning from level 301 to level 350 is lower realm, from level 351 to 400 is middle realm, level 401 to 450 is higher realm, level 451 to 500 is upper realm and level 501 to 550 is master realm which is the peak of B-rank.
As for A-rank, the level required to break through to the next realm is 90 level difference.
This explains the difference in strength between the level . Like a person in D rank who has a level in the middle realm is many times stronger than a person in D rank with a level in the lower realm.
The difference in power between each realm is big but not as overwhelming as the difference in rank. Like a person in B-Rank can easily kill a person in C-rank with a wave of their hands. Though, the same is not so if it is only a difference in realm, but a person with a higher realm can suppress a person with a lower realm even though they are on the same rank.
Though having a higher realm doesn't always mean that the person is stronger than his opponent with a lower realm than themself. There are many cases where people with a lower realm defeat those with a much higher realm than theirs.
D-rank are no different from a weakling who can barely destroy a building with their power, C-rank can fight stronger monsters with their power and can destroy a small town if they want, B-rank can destroy several lands and cities with their power if they go all out, and A-rank adventurers can destroy regions and countries with their full power if they want.
Also, humans have a longer lifespan depending on their rank. D-ranks humans have a lifespan of 150 years, C-rank human have a lifespan of 500 years, B-rank humans have a lifespan of 1500 years, and A-rank human have a lifespan of 5000 years.
The only way to level up is to kill monsters or fellow people and gain experience from them.
"And that is why adventurers who want to level up usually go to the dungeons. I heard that monsters will never truly disappear while inside the dungeon,"
Dora explained to me. This information was new to me, but I appreciate it. I guess she has traveled a lot to know all this. Though she never mentioned the S-Rank in her explanation.
"What about the S-Rank?"
"Those guys? They're the strongest and oldest in the world, which is why they are usually called Old Ancestors. People always greets them by calling them your excellency in other not to offend them"
"Wait! You thought I was an S-Rank? Is that why you greeted me like that?"
"Can you blame me!? Only S-Rank beings can rival the amount of mana you released."
Well, that wasn't close to my full mana, but whatever.
"Anyway, why are they called old ancestors in the first place?"
"You really don't know anything, huh! To put it bluntly, the Demon realm and the Human realm are in a war with eachother. Though things are in a ceasefire at the moment thanks to the S-Rank and the demon generals."
"Wait! We are in a war? When did the war start?"
"This war has been going on for over tens of thousands of years now. No one knows when it started except for maybe the oldest of the old ancestors. Though you won't know we are in a war with the demon continent due to the deterrence of the S-Ranks. All we have are just a few skimmish here and there between the two continent, but none have gone on a full on assault thanks to the S-Rank and Demon Generals."
"The S-Ranks all have levels that exceed 1000. Some of them even have a level up to 5000. Their lifespan is said to be around a hundred thousand years or more. A single S-Rank being is said to have enough power to destroy the entire continent with a single spell, meaning they can destroy half of the world with a single spell. They can probably destroy the entire world if they go all out. Those monsters are the reason the human realm is able to survive till now against the demon continent."
This is a lot to take in. I have been living in ignorance all this time. To think that the current world is not peaceful. I have to know.
"If the S-Ranks are that powerful, then why haven't they conquered the demon realm?"
"That is because the demon realm has demons who are as strong as the S-Rank, namely the Demon Generals. In total, there are 10 S-Ranks in the human continent and 10 Demon Generals in the demon continent. Due to each side having equal power in terms of S-Rank and Demon General, it was temporary decided that a truce is maintained between the two continent and this truce have been going on for thousands of years from what I heard. If either side were to produce another S-Rank or demon general, then the balance will fall, and the war will break out in earnest."
What Dora is saying is that both sides are only biding their time in order to produce another monster before coming to declare a full-scale war on the other.
"Is it really that hard to level up past 1000?"
This has been bugging me. If all that is needed is to kill monsters, I'm sure many adventurers or people would have made it to S-Rank by now.
"It's not that simple, Lilia. The limit level for all races is 1000. That is a law that was placed in the world by the gods. S-Ranks are beings who broke that limit and exceeded level 1000. This is basically going against the law of the gods to gain power. The process is facing divine judgment from the heavens, and only 1 in a billion people have a chance of surviving it. Same with the demons. That is why only ten S-Ranks exist in the entire world and those ten are considered demi-gods in the mortal world."
That answers my question. No wonder the two races are in a temporary truce. Both races are simply waiting for that 1% chance that someone will succeed in reaching that level.
"What about the Demon King? How strong is he?"
"The Demon King is stronger than even the S-Rank from what I heard. Legend has it that a powerful demon general broke his level cap and race to become a true god who is no longer mortal or demi-god but a full fledged god. He is said to have enough power to destroy the universe with a wave of his hand if he so chooses."
That was not the answer I was expecting. That kind of monster should be with the gods, not with mortals.
"If he is so strong, why doesn't he end the fight with the human realm already?"
"Nobody knows. Maybe he doesn't care, maybe he is just bored and needs entertainment, maybe he doesn't actually exist and is just a myth that the demon race have created. All we know is that the demon lord has only been said to have made an appearance tens of thousands of years ago when he defeated three S-Rank beings from the human realm without killing them. This can also be made up stories though, so I wouldn't believe it too much."
I get what Dora was saying, but I believe in that story. After all, I have this power now, and I don't see myself inferior to those old ancestors.
It makes sense now. Maybe I obtained this power to fight against the demon king. I don't know who is stronger between us, but I will not lose to him or to anyone. After, I'm going to be the strongest in existence.